5 Days for the Homeless was founded by students at the Alberta School of Business in 2005. Having identified homelessness as a growing problem, organizers decided to sleep in the streets to raise awareness for the issue and donations for a local charity. Three years later the campaign went national, with Concordia being one of the first universities to sign on.

“I know what it feels like to have no spending money, no access to shelter when it’s cold and wet, no change of clothes and no knowledge of where my next meal is coming from,” Redler says.

“Thanks in part to the amazing publicity we received, Montrealers from all walks of life made sure we were fed and cared for with kindness and donations.”